The Incantatum Clause
by TheLordOfThePants
Summary: Through a series of miracles, its all over. The battle is won. Voldemort has fallen and now everyone can start rebuilding their lives and start living with a sense of safety.. finally. This story follows the events immediately following the battle, though it does stray from the original stories, so it will be an AU story. Marriage Law Fic
1. Chapter 1

"You're joking, Perce!" Shouted Fred as the Death Eater he was battling collapsed under the weight of three separate Stunning spells. Thicknesse had fallen to the ground with tiny spikes erupting all over him; he seemed to be turning into some form of sea urchin. Fred looked at Percy with glee.

"You actually are joking, Perce…. I don't think I've heard you joke since you were-"

The air exploded. Two death eaters appeared in front both boys throwing Harry, Ron, and Hermione to the ground at the force of their apparation.

"Pullus" Perce interrupted as a purple light erupted from his wand turning the closer Death Eater into a chicken.

Fred had no time to admire his brothers handiwork, for the second Death Eater had come out of his apparent shock of his partners transformation, and was now rounding on him.

"Avada-!"

"Stupefy!" Fred and the Death Eater yelled simultaneously. Hermione watched as their wands connected, deadly green light against the bright red of his own.

Fred was in utter shock as he looked down the stream of light as it turned to gold. Although this did not last long, for he heard Hermione shout duck from beyond his field of vision, he didn't think twice. He just did. As he heaved himself to the ground pulling against the string of magic.

"Avada Kedavra."

The pull released and Fred returned his head to the masked Death Eater, who immediately froze and fell to the ground in a sickening thud. He then looked to the voice who had so calmly used the curse. Hermione stood frozen and pale.

"I-I'm sorry, I-I didn't know what else to do." She spoke barely above a whisper.

"Of course love, I was almost toast there!" Fred tried to make light of what had just happened. How she hadn't hesitated in saving him.

She gave a slight nod and looked dazed at the scene before her, bile quickly rose up in her throat and she turned to let it out. Fred rushed over to her, rubbing her back. The air was still thick with death and destruction all around them, but thankfully for now he was not one of them, she had saved him.


	2. Chapter 2

After the last of the fighting had ceased, Fred, George, Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron headed into the castle to see the extent of the damage. The great hall had been transformed into a trauma ward, many wounded lay on cots lined throughout the vast space, the fallen were lined along the front so that respects may be paid, and bodies might be identified. This would be the hardest part of their walk.

It wasn't long before Molly and Arthur were rushing towards the children gathering them in their arms and Molly was soonafter showering them in kisses for what felt like an eternity, but there was no objection, each one of her children, biological and not, revelled in it. This was the first of many happy memories they would have.

"Oh my babies, you are all okay! I was so so worried, I-I…" She trailed off into large sobs on her husband's shoulder.

"Mrs. Weasley, it's okay. It's over now." Harry stepped forward to reassure her, it was the first time he had really spoken since defeating Voldemort. She latched onto him and held him close.

"Easy mum, don't break him-" Fred started.

"We'll leave that to Gin." George winked and elbowed her lightly, causing her to turn a dark shade of red.

"Boys.." Molly attempted to sound stern, but she just couldn't this time. _Not today_ , she thought.

They made their way over to a section of empty cots. The scene was somewhat less bleak than it had been immediately after the final show down, many of the injured had been taken, or were being taken care of, and the dead had been in the process of being cleaned up had their fatal injuries been too gruesome.

"I'm going to go now." Harry was the first to stand up of the group. "Together?" Hermione said without meeting his gaze.

"Always." Harry offered his hand to Ginny who immediately accepted. Fred, George and Hermione were following closely behind, followed lastly by Ron.

The dead lined up against the wall looked peaceful enough to be sleeping, there was not a dry eye in the group as they passed down the line, a mournful procession, all of these children were much too young for such a fate. They would later be known as the fallen fifty, among them Colin Creevy and Lavender Brown. By this point Ron had gotten down on his knees, took Lavenders hand in his own, and reverently placed his lips against her knuckle as if not to break her. Slow tears made way down his face.

"She was too young." He said more to himself than anyone else. Ginny put a tentative hand on his shoulder. Hermione had already been crying, but this pushed her over the edge, Ron had really loved her, and she felt for him, she wouldn't have known what to do if any of the Weasleys, or Harry had been lying there on that cot. But she was gone, and while she may have been mildly annoying last year, this was no fate anyone deserved, especially not her. Silent sobs shook her shoulders, and she felt a strong, but gentle arm wrap around her shoulders. Through teary eyes she could see Fred looking down at her, two single watery tears came down from his brown eyes. Never had she seen such sadness from the prankster.

"They all were." Ron said quietly placing her hand onto her stomach and stepping back from the body.

"Yes, they were Ron. We're so sorry." George said seriously.

"That's right." Hermione said wiping her eyes and looking at him directly. He managed a small smile, then moved to head back to his parents.

"Where's Remus and Tonks?" Harry said panicked, breaking everyone from their gaze on Ron's receding back. He moved past them and walked slightly faster than they had before, his eyes fervently scanning the line, so many faces he had grown up with. But he could not see them, he was wary to take this as hope for today had already been filled with such mixed emotions. He dared to hope. Today was a day for hope.

"Harry!" He spun to see Remus running towards him. He quite nearly collided with him knocking the wind out of him. "Harry, it's over it. It's over." He kept repeating the mantra in his ear. Harry let himself relax as he squeezed back. He had worried for Remus and Tonks immensely throughout the duration of the war. _Tonks._

"Tonks!" Harry gasped out. A new wave of worry crashed over him.

Remus backed up and held him at arm's length, "She's with Arthur and Molly." He laughed, it was a rare sound to get Remus to really laugh, but today what wasn't there to laugh at when it came to good news.

The group descended on Mr. and Mrs. Weasley gathering together in a close group, sitting in the comfortable silence of each other's company.

Later on as things really calmed down, Fred found Hermione helping with the reconstruction of the castle.

"Hey, 'Mione." He lifted his wand to help her raise the large chunk of castle she was trying to levitate back to its proper spot.

"Hello, Fred." She managed a small smile. The light was beginning to fade around the castle and a calm clear May night was taking its place.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" He asked once they had achieved placing the chunk back to his proper place.

"Of course, Fred." She moved to the stairs that had had already been cleaned off and sat down. Fred joined the step next to her.

"I know earlier I mentioned something, but Hermione," he turned her head so she would see his eyes when he told her, "I just want to thank you, for what you did today. You didn't have to-"

"Of course I did Fred, a world without you is not one that I would want to live in." She cut him off, her eyes widening at the ludicrous possibility that she did not have to save him.

He was stunned at her words, of course she would have done the same thing for any of them, she was Hermione after all.

"Thank you, Hermione." Was all he could manage to breathe out. He pulled her into a gentle hug. "So brave." He whispered into her hair before breaking the hug. They walked inside together surrounded by the comfortable silence which had fallen after the battle had ceased to meet with the others. All of the remaining people who had stayed to clear up, including McGonagall, pitched sleeping bags and slept out on the quidditch field, which surprisingly remained unscathed by the battle.


	3. Chapter 3

One week after the battle groups of volunteer wizards, both survivors and wizards from the surrounding areas grouped together to form restoration parties. All of the inhabitants of Weasley house were in attendance. No one would admit out loud, but Hogwarts would never be entirely the same to them, not after this tragedy.

"Today we will split into groups, each group will be assigned an area to restore. I have spoken to the paintings, and they will help with any of the minor details and cosmetics of the area, so please ask." Mcgonagall spoke to the large crowd in front of her, all of her fellow professors stood on either side of her. Each one of them would join a group and assist in the restoration. After she had dispersed all but one group, only Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, Ginny, George, Neville, and Luna remained.

"You eight will remain with me." Mcgonagall eyed them carefully as glances shifted amongst them, it was if they were all children again, for a great many of them were not unaccustomed to being under the scrutiny of a teacher, but Mcgonagall had always been different and better than previous run-ins with authority. Fred fondly remembered he and his brothers famous exit from Hogwarts during their last year, looking down on all of the students laughing and smiling for the first time that year.

Mcgonagall lead the eight through the school, the ever winding hallways warped with dark magic, a lot of which would most likely have to be repaired manually due to the nature of its damage. The once bright bricks were chipped and scarred, rubble lay scattered on the once polished floors of the corridor. No one spoke as they walked down the hall, to anyone outside their party, they appeared to be part of a funeral march, and in many ways they were. By finally digging into the heart of the damage, they were able to fully grasp the extent of what had occurred in battle, not that these eight specifically weren't key members of the battle, they were able to see beyond just where they had stood and fought.

There was an eerie silence in Hogwarts now, it had settled shortly after the end of the battle and continued to linger it like a suffocating blanket. Hermione walked next to Ginny behind Harry and Ron, who were followed by George and Fred, then Neville and Luna. It was a reverent silence, there were so many who had fallen within these halls, and there was nothing that could be done that would bring them back. Hermione pulled her eyes from the rubble to look behind her, a low sniff could be heard, Fred looked to her when he noticed her gaze. A slow tear made its way down from Fred's face. Hermione didn't understand why this affected her so, but it did, the jokester twin was showing such emotion that Hermione had never seen expressed by him before, of course she knew him capable, but to see it was something else. He offered her a sad smile, and reached out a hand to her. She fell back to walk with him, his arm wrapped around her shoulder, and hers around his middle, she was comforted by this presence she didn't know she needed. More tears threatened both of their eyes now, it was all so real, Hogwarts had always been such a lively place, always something happening, but now even the staircases refused to so much as budge, and the paintings were yet to be coaxed back to their frames. This was a place that they were all meant to feel safe and the harsh reality that it wasn't was starting to affect the group.

"Not much further now." Mcgonagall's voice cut through the silence, it too had an uneven edge from the sturdy tell-it-like-it-is heir that she always had in her voice, she had lost a great many friends and students whom many she loved as her own children.

"Right up here is where we will start." She led them in through a damaged doorway.

"Whats this then?" Ron piped up, he had been unusually quiet since seeing Lavenders body. Harry and Hermione had been doing all they could to comfort him since.

"This is a classroom Mr. Weasley." Mcgonagall turned to him, her gaze unwavering. The lot looked around, rubble had been ravaged through entirely, gaps of light could be seen from holes made in the castle wall. The damaged appeared to be extensive, it was all a bit overwhelming for Hermione.

"It's not so bad really." Luna stated as she surveyed the rubble. Everyone's eyes averted to her.

"I think shes right. If we divvy up the work between the eight of us, I know we'll be able to make some good progress." Neville formulated, casting the first optimism the group had experienced since entering the castle.

"Mr. Longbottom is correct." Mcgonagall murmured.

"Of course I am." He stated bravely. Causing smirks and breathy laughs from around the room.

"Watch your cheek Mr. Longbottom." Mcgonagall attempted to keep away the smile that played on her lips, but failed miserably in the end. It would be alright.


	4. Chapter 4

Each day the groups would meet, clean, then go home, for the first few days that was all they did, little conversation was exchanged between them, this was not a fun activity, they took no pleasure in clearing up the rubble and dust from the places they once felt safe in. Finally at the end of the first week of clearing, cleaning and wiping, the first classroom began to resemble a classroom yet again, there were no longer holes where patches of light seeped in. George, Harry, Ron, and Neville were to thank for such craftsmanship. Fred, Ginny, and Luna repaired all of the internal damages to the room, mending chairs, book cases, and other arbitrary items. It was Mcgonagall and Hermione's job to set the room as it was after all of major damage was fixed. This day was the day they would reset the room to its former glory, tweaking the last cosmetics.

"It looks amazing." Fred came up behind Hermione, admiring what she had done.

"It's nothing you couldn't do Fred." She looked up to where he stood, he was much taller than he had been when she had first met him, they were practically the same height her first year, which had been his third, while George had always been the taller of the twins, more recently than not, shortly after the whole Umbridge debacle Fred reckoned was when he had surpassed his brother in height and charm (in his opinion).

"I- uh, thanks 'Mione." He flashed her his winning Weasley smile, which caused her to return it, eyes crinkling and all. Hermione had always been a pretty witch, though she would have never have had admitted it to herself, but she had especially grown both physically and emotionally and she was a rather beautiful woman, or so Fred thought in that fleeting moment.

The next week was spent apparating from the burrow to Hogwarts and back again, there was little time to talk between the exhaustive work they had been doing, in which much had to be done manually rather than magically. At the end of the week Mcgonagall called them into her newly refurbished office which she had spent the greater part of the tail end of the week fixing herself. Luckily it had not been to terribly damaged that she preferred to manage it herself.

"You've all done a great service this week, and I'd like to say this to each and every one of you," she looked between the eight tired faces in front of her, "Go home, and rest for a week. You need to keep yourselves healthy, and the best thing you can do for yourselves is to rest. Even you ." She cut him off before he even had a chance to argue.

"I suppose you're right." Ginny perked up from Harry's side.

"Of course I am." Mcgonagall laughed pointedly.

They made their ways through the castle, all though it had not completely gone away, the feelings of despair and utter sadness did not entirely disappear, they all did feel better in seeing the immense progress that had been made in that week alone. Many of the piles of rubble on the floors were not gone entirely, a great many had been sorted through and the lot of mess looked a lot more organized. In a way it was lucky that the battle had happened during a time when the weather had been nice, for now the sun was staying out longer, and the beautiful flowers that bloomed along the lake in the summer were about to be in full effect and things would be looking up for the first time in honestly nearly eighteen years now.

Luna and Neville left first to be with both their grand mother and father respectively, which left the Weasley's with Harry and Hermione, left to go.

" So, I've asked mum to move the bed from Charlie's room so you can have a bed of your own in my room." Ginny told Hermione as they walked into the Weasley home behind the others. After their sixth year, the Weasley home had been burned down by death eaters in pursuit of them, and since then Molly and Arthur had been able to almost entirely restore the house, even down to the pans washing themselves, it was always awe inspiring to Hermione what magic could do, even now after it being such a big part of her life for almost seven years. Moments like these to the outside viewer would be almost unnoticeable, except to one person, Fred caught glimpse of this admiration, he recognized that look, from, somewhere. He would eventually have to talk to her about what happened during the battle, he had given it some thought, but he knew what happened must have been powerful to have caused such a result.

That next night Fred did just that, approaching her after tea. She had volunteered to let Molly have the night off from doing dishes, now she stood in front of a quickly diminishing pile of dishes, manually scrubbing them clean rather than magicking them clean.

"Granger, you know that's what these are for, right?" Fred said jokingly from the island behind her, she gave a slight jump before she turned around.

"I do, happen to know that, I just don't think there is any harm in doing things the muggle way sometimes, that's all." She gave a small smile, wringing her hands on the tattered dishtowel next to the sink.

" Well, then, at least let me help, I'd feel terrible if I knew you were here doing all this by yourself." He offered a genuine smile and stepped closer. Hermione's heart leapt slightly at his gesture. "So," he continued, "do you prefer washing or drying?" He eyed the counter, then the sink, then Hermione.

"I'll let you do the washing then," she smirked, "since you offered." She took the towel and waited for him to wash, it was funny really for the two had been friends for ages, but never had they actually spent time together. This was new and different, but they felt comfortable in each others presence yet.

"I think you just want to see me flex these bad boys, Granger." He made a motion that accentuated the muscles on his arms, "You know, all you had to do is ask, 'Mione."

Hermione couldn't help the bright red blush that crept up on her cheeks in that moment, she knew the Weasley twins were known for their candid demeanor, but she was not used to being on the receiving end of their charm. She continued drying in silence, a small smile stay plastered on her face as she did dare to flick an eye over to Fred as he worked, and how she wished she hadn't. Fred had always been fit, but Hermione had never really taken notice, but his arms as he washed the dishes would definitely leave its mark in her mind.

"Hey, 'Mione, I have a confession to make." Fred said staring at the pot, trying to keep focused on the crusted rice rather than look at her. He was itching on serious territory.

"Yes?" She however, did turn to look at him, his face was devoid of the playful banter they had been carrying on throughout the evening.

"I didn't come over here to just help you with the dishes," he rinsed his hands and turned to finally face her, she looked worried. "Oh please, it's nothing bad!" He tried to reassure her, he placed a damp hand on her shoulder.

"What is it Fred?" She eyed him carefully.

He took a deep breath. ' _Why was it so hard to say?'_ He thought. "At the battle, I know mums already bombarded you with her greatest thanks, but I've been meaning to say something myself." He used his other hand to rub the back of his neck, it was a dead giveaway of his nervousness. "I just really wanted to thank you for what you did Hermione, you didn't have to save me, but you did."

"Of course I had to save you Fred." She barely whispered, in shock that he would even dream of such a thing.

"Still, Hermione, it means so much to me." He checked her face, she was impossible to read. "Do you know what happened though? With the wands connecting?" He had been going over the scenario in his mind every night, often waking up in cold sweats just as the death eaters appeared.

"I-I do, and you're welcome Fred, really, there was no other option to me, I wouldn't have been able to go on without you." She hadn't realized that she had meant the words until she said them, and Fred had definitely picked them up. He pulled her into a hug, tight and warm. He had grown to truly appreciate Hermione these last few years, watching from the sides as she, Ron, and Harry brought restoration to the wizarding world. He let her out of his grasp.

"What do you know?" He pulled out two stools for them to sit on. By this hour, much of the house were asleep, or at least in bed. "I'm sorry, if you want to go to sleep, you can." He realized the time was nearly half past eleven.

"No, please, I have been thinking about that night since it happened." She itched to speak about it with someone.

"Alright, what have you come up with?" He questioned from next to her on the stool, he was beginning to feel the slight tinges of fatigue. He flicked his wand at the last of the dishes, and they began to put themselves away.

"Impressive." Hermione giggled. She had no idea that Fred had any knowledge of household charms.

"What, did you think I was all good looks and no substance up here?" He laughed and pointed at his head. _Again with the self depreciating humour._ He inwardly grimaced.

"Of course not Freddie, I can't even begin to think of all of the magic that surrounds your products." Genuine admiration overtook Hermione's features, betraying her strict facade she usually held when regarding their pranks.

"Oh, Merlin. I have broken Hermione Granger." He shook his head, laughing, "You know, I could show you sometime." Offering a suggestion he hadn't even been aware he had thought of.

"Let's get back to the original topic shall we?" Hermione attempted to bring a more serious manner to the conversation, but her face again betrayed her with a blush rising all the way to her eyebrows.

"You're right." Fred sobered, but he still maintained a slight mischief in his eyes.

"Well, it was hard to ignore the similarities between what happened between Harry's and Voldemort's wand, and yours. I've read up on this and is a phenomenon called the Priori Incantatem, where two wands that share the same core, in this case instead of Phoenix feather, it was Dragon Heartstrings." She recollected.

"But isn't that astronomically rare to happen once, let alone twice." Fred questioned, he was now using his right arm to hold up his head, rather than letting it hang as he had before. This new news had woken him up slightly.

"It is," Hermione paused to tuck her legs up onto the stool, it was rare for her to be up so late talking with someone other than Ginny, which she had taken a great habit of doing, "but, it's the only plausible thing that could have happened. I wasn't sure of how the wands would react if they had held on longer, so that's why I did what I did." She tried to dismissively wave her hand, but this was the first time she had come close to voicing what she had done, and hot tears began to flood her eyes. She brought that hand to cover her eyes, hoping that would stop Fred from seeing the mess she was becoming.

Fred reached over to pull her hand down with some gentle struggle, he forced her to look into his eyes, now completely serious. Fred could count on one hand the amount of times he had been this serious, most recently was the almost fatality of George's ear loss.

"I killed a man Fred." She whispered, the tears fell down her face in two hot drips. She looked so scared, Fred could not help but feel a strong sense of protectiveness over her.

"Yes, you did, but this man would have killed me, and what would have stopped him from then turning and killing the rest of you? Love, you acted purely in self defense, and may I say you are the bravest damn witch I have ever met for doing so. You let me see my family again, you gave me the rest of a life I should have rightly have. Hermione, look at me. If you had the chance to do it again would you? Speak honestly love." He held her face as she stared at him, her eyes red rimmed with tears, her brown eyes stared freely into his. Without any more than a split second's hesitation, she answered.

"Yes. I would, a thousand times over." A weight that had been in her heart had lifted as she said those words to Fred.

"Right then," Fred couldn't help the goofy smile that happened across his face, he wondered what had happened just then, but he could sense a shift in their friendship for the better.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been four months to the date of the battle, and while it had been a process to restore Hogwarts, but it had been done, and things were finally beginning to return back to as normal as they could be. Harry and Hermione had been staying at the Weasley residence since the night after the final battle, helping reverse the damage done from when the house was burnt down. Much like the castle, it appeared relatively unscathed.

Hermione woke early as she usually did, and was careful not to wake Ginny and Harry as she snuck down stairs. Since the battle, Harry had a tendency to sneak into the room after dark and sleep next to her, they didn't have to say, but they all knew it was because of the nightmares. Hermione all too well knew about those. Almost every night she would wake in a sweat, shaking as she heard the thud of his lifeless body hitting the ground.

She knew in her heart that he deserved everything that he had received, but she could not help the doubt she still felt from within. Who was I to play God? She would often think, but then her rational mind would kick in, Who was he to either? And per usual, he rational mind would overrule. Especially since her talks with Fred those last few months.

She padded down the stairs passing by the twins, which she supposed was vacant since the twins had taken to working at their shop again. She was surprised to hear voices beyond the door as she passed.

"-I don't know if she does."

"Mate, I'm sure of it. Don't be thick."

"Oi, I'm not being thick y- who's there?" one of the twins voices rose from the hushed whispers beyond the doors. Hermione froze. She didn't know what had possessed her to listen in in the first place.

"There's no one there Greddy."

"I swore I hear-"

"It bleedin' six-thirty in the morning, who's going to be awake?"

"She might be?" His voice was barely audible, but Hermione took that as her queue to leave. She silently slid along the floor until she got to the stairs and quickly made her way to the main living room, she grabbed herself a book from the wall of books, and began reading.

"Mornin' love." Fred gently shook her shoulder until she roused.

"Mmello." She stretched, both Fred and George were standing in the room with her. "What's the time?"

"'Bout half past seven." George turned from the giant family clock.

"We thought we'd get you up before the cavalry descends on you." Fred concluded. Hermione had made a habit of falling asleep on the couch after waking up in the morning, and without fail every morning, Mrs. Weasley would fuss and fret over her sleeping in such a state. She knew the woman only cared about her well being though, so she never fought it.

"Oh, thank you." She smiled up at them, and as if on cue Mrs. Weasley walked into the room, apparently unaware of its present company.

"Hiya mum." Fred and George said in union.

If the ceiling had been any lower, Mrs. Weasley might of had a concussion from the force at which she jumped.

"Good Lord, boys!" She reached to cover her mouth. " Why are you up so early, I haven't even started making breakfast yet- oh good morning dearie!" She switch from the twins to Hermione. "I hope the boys didn't wake you up." She turned a glare to George and Fred.

"No! I was awake ages before them." She slightly fibbed.

"Oh good, well do make sure you are getting enough sleep dearie." With that she headed off to make the daily smorgasbord of food for the clan. But when she reached the kitchen a soft gasp could be heard. The three exchanged glances before heading into the kitchen.

"Mum, whats wrong?" George asked from the doorway behind Fred and Hermione.

"Ministry letters." She held up an unfolded piece of paper with the trademark ministry seal on the bottom.

"What about ministry letters?" Hermione piped up, a nervous edge in her voice.

"They're re-instituting the Marriage Law."

"What's that then?" Hermione said from behind Fred. She had a suspicion, but it had been decades ago, and a passing glance in a ministry law book when she had last seen it.

"It means that the ministry has paired all single witches and wizards between the ages of 17 and 35 together in order to boost magical population growth." Mrs. Weasley announced glumly. She reached for the other envelopes on the table. "The results I imagine."

The three stepped forward to collect their envelopes. None of them wanted to go first.

"How can they be allowed to do something like this?" Hermione questioned, her voice slightly raising in pitch as well as decibel.

"Arthur heard talk in the ministry, but he thought it was just that, he didn't think there to be any real substance involved. Maybe some warnin' next time they decide to pull something like that." Mrs. Weasley grumbled picking up each letter. Hermione had heard about these in the past and unfortunately there was no getting out of it without the most severe of consequences.

"Might as well get it over with." George said taking the letter from his mother.

"Oh no you don't!" Molly quickly snatched the letter back from him before he had the chance to open it. "I want everyone in here before we all start pairing off, who knows the next time we'll all be together." The severity of her tone silenced any notion of other plans. She set off with the letters to rouse the rest of the house leaving the three alone in the room.

The occupants of the house groggily made their way down the stairs and sat at the table as Mrs. Weasley had ordered them.

"The ministry has re-instituted what is know as a marriage law, and this entails all witches or wizards between the ages of 17 and 35 to be paired off to reboost magical population growth within the wizarding community. This law is extraordinarily serious, for anyone who so wishes to go against these terms will have their wands terminated and be exiled from the wizarding world entirely, and indefinitely." Mrs. Weasley finished reading off the letter in front of her. "These, I imagine are the results." My best of luck to all of you." She took a deep breath and passed out the letters. Everyone had woken up considerably since the few minutes prior.

Now, no one dared to move.

George was the first to speak up.

"I guess I'll go first then?" He looked around, then tore open his letter.

His eyes scanned the page before smiling slightly.

"Angelina... " He then looked up from the paper to Fred, "Wicked." He chuckled slightly.

"Alright then, let's see what we got here then." Others around the table began to open theres, Harry being paired off with Ginny, to Mrs. Weasleys more than evident enthusiasm, Ron to Luna Lovegood, bringing more confusion than any negative emotion from Ron, Percy to a girl named Penelope, leaving only Fred and Hermione to go last.

Hermione looked down, this was one aspect she always knew she would have control over, and she was sad to see that it was being taken away. She looked over to Fred who appeared to be sharing her apprehension.

"We can do it together if you like?" Hermione attempted a smile, but it came out as more as a nervous line. What if she ended up with someone like Draco Malfoy? What would she do?

"Please." He looked at her.

"Here's to it not being Draco." Hermione muttered causing Fred to smirk, then they proceeded to open their letters together. Fred quickly scanned the paper to the very bottom where his future would lay. 'Fred Gideon Weasley, you have been herby bonded with Hermione Granger.'

He read it once, then again, then again just to be certain.

Meanwhile Hermione was going through the same process. "I'll be Mrs. Weasley." Was her immediate thought at hearing the news. Then Fred's name crossed her mind. He really wasn't that bad, although until this year she had hardly known him at all.

"So dears, who have you got then?" Molly looked expectantly at them both of them.

"Each other, I imagine." Fred spoke first shooting a smirk at Hermione.

"What?!" Mrs. Weasley practically jumped at them to read the papers herself. "Oh my goodness, I am so relieved and happy for you both!" She grabbed them both into one of her famous Mrs. Weasley hugs. Hermione managed to catch Freds eyes and give a reassuring smile that she hoped would convince him that she wasn't about to apparate into the woods and never be seen again.


	6. Chapter 6

"That was quite a morning wasn't it?" Fred came up behind Hermione, shortly after breakfast she had decided to walk around the apple trees that clustered the corner of the yard, she hadn't since had a chance to talk to Fred, but for her own sanity, she needed a moment to gather the seriousness of her situation and regain some sort of grip on it, she was definitely happy with the outcome given the possibilities of other potential matches, but it was still strange to her.

"It definitely was." She kept walking, and he had now caught up beside her and was walking in stride. Fred could sense an awkwardness seeping into the area, so he placed a hand on her arm to stop her.

"Hermione, I just want you to know that I am more than happy with the turnout of this mornings… events," he smiled genuinely afterwards, "And I am willing to give this a good shot if you are?" He searched her eyes, they were kind eyes, they always had been to him.

"I am, it isn't you, but this whole situation will take some getting used to I think, that's all." She offered a sincere smile like the one she had given him earlier.

"I completely understand, how about we ease into this whole situation?" Fred offered.

"What do you mean?" Hermione looked to where Freds hand was still hanging from her wrist, his touch feather-light. He promptly made to move it but Hermione stopped him. "It's fine." It was a bold move for her, but Fred only smiled and squeezed her hand.

"What I mean is, how about you let me take you out, like on a proper date, tomorrow?" Fred hoped that his hands wouldn't betray him and shake.

"I think I would like that." Hermione offered a playful smile and squeezed his hand back.

Little did they both know that Molly Weasley was watching them from the kitchen practically squealing from delight, she, in her heart had honestly always imagined Hermione and Fred evening out each other's distinct personalities.

"Spill it, now." Ginny practically pounced on Hermione when she walked in her room.

"Funny, I thought you'd be all over Harry right about now." Hermione smirked making loud kissy noises at her friend.

"Oh, I've got my whole life for that." Ginny smiled dangerously, "But, you can't avoid the question, what's going on up in that brain of yours."

Hermione sat down on Charlie's bed and smoothed out an imaginary wrinkle. "Well, I suppose I am happy with the events, I mean they could have turned out a lot worse than Fred.." She realized what she had said and tried to correct it. "Wait, no I don't mean it like that. Fred is lovely." She attempted to mend her jumbled words.

"I know what you meant 'Mione." Ginny couldn't help but smile, she had never given much thought into pairing her brother with Hermione, unless that brother had been Ron. But she felt that this match would be a good thing for the both of them. Her seriousness had subsided. "Soo, do you liiiike him?" She stretched out the syllables like a small child would when trying to get answers.

"Oh, shush Ginny." Hermione began smoothing the imaginary wrinkles again, they were quite fascinating to her, anything to stop the blush from rising on her cheeks would be helpful.

"You're avoiding the question." Ginny pulled a navy scrunchy from the mass of "stuff" as she lovingly referred to it on her wardrobe and pulled her crimson hair up into a high ponytail.

"I am not, it's all just a bit new this whole marriage thing, but I do, or at least I'm very close to liking Fred." She looked over to Ginny before continuing. "We have been spending more time together since the battle, I guess." She thought about the first few nights she had talked to him late after everyone had gone to bed, and all the times in between then and now where she paid closer attention to his presence in outings or in cleanings up at Hogwarts. Hermione hadn't realized it, but she had grown rather fond of Fred's company these last few months.

"Oh, I understand." Ginny gave a mock wink to Hermione.

"Please don't say anything yet." It was kind of futile to do anything so trivial now, but she hoped Ginny would understand.

"I won't, I promise." Ginny could tell that she shouldn't press the matter any further.

"Thank you, Ginny." Hermione sat on the bed a while longer before going down to heading to help Molly set up for lunch.


	7. Chapter 7

** Hi guys, I know I haven't left any notes on here yet, but I really hope you are enjoying the story so far, I have big plans for Fred and Hermione! So if you could please review with any comments it would be wonderful! Also I think generally these chapters will be short, but in abundance unless a particularly large scene takes place, so please enjoy!**

"Right then." Fred looked in the mirror of he and his brothers old room, they had taken to staying there since after the battle, it just seemed weird to leave after something like that, but they could tell that their days were numbered in the Weasley home, though their mother would never say it. Fred and George had always been independent boys, even from toddlers they would do things by their rules, their poor mother and father could definitely attest to that.

"That's it I'm not going." Fred pulled the lopsided tie he had attempted to do from his neck and flung it at his brother.

"Oi, what's this about then?" George straightened the tie out and stared at Fred. "I have never seen you this worked up about something like this before." George smirked at Fred from the bed, but then his face fell. "You really like her don't you." He stood up and walked over to his brother to re-tie his tie.

Fred gave a sigh. "Is it really that obvious?" He made a poor attempt of a joke, of course George knew how his brother felt about Hermione, and just how strange things seemed to unfold for him.

"Hey, Gred, you will do fine, I mean you have known her for how long now." George was trying to help out Fred in any way he could at this point now.

To anyone outside and looking in, the Weasley twins were paired off as almost one entity, always known as Fred and George, rather than Fred, space, and George. And while in many ways it was true that they did spend most all of the time together, they were two distinct people upon closer inspection. For example, Fred tended to be more reserved and preferred working in the back room of his joke shop, creating and inventing, while George shined in bringing people in with his charm and using his talents to sell more products, he was also more likely to go too far on a prank if Fred hadn't reeled him in. During their sixth year, it had been Fred who talked George into agreeing with Hermione in not testing their products on the younger students. The point being is that George and Fred, while similar in some retrospects were still two different people, and Fred hoped that Hermione would be able to realize that.

"I know Forgie, but I'm not you, I don't have the ease you have when talking to girls." Fred hated admitting this, because it wasn't George's fault for their dispositions, it was just situations like these where they could really be told apart.

"Fred, you'll be fine, really, and drop the tie. Here." He pulled out a green tee shirt from his pile of clothes, "Put this on instead and wear it under the blazer, less formal, but not too casual." He admired his work after fred had gotten changed. Since they had cut their hair the previous summer they had taken turns experimenting with different styles, not that they would have ever had admitted it to anyone. Fred tried gelling his hair for tonight.

"I look like Joey from Friends." Fred groaned. Looking in the mirror, he had never spent this much time getting ready for anything.

"Isn't he the hot one? I heard Hermione and Ginny talking about him being hot." George poked his head into bathroom. Hermione and Harry had gotten the Weasleys invested in muggle television and it had caught on like wildfire.

"Then Joey I shall be." He gave himself a once over and was finally satisfied. "I wonder if Hermione's this nervous…" He walked out into their room. "How do I look?"

"Not as good as me, but good enough." George winked at him cheekily. "So, where are you taking her tonight?"


	8. Chapter 8

** I know two in one day what is happening here, but I really wanted to get this one out before I went to bed, this will be the last chapter before the date which I'm hoping to be a longer chapter so that may take a bit longer to update, as always please leave a comment or a like and let me know what you like and don't like! Anyways, enjoy!**

Meanwhile Hermione stood one floor below and several doors to the right going through the same predicament.

"Ginny, I'm no good at this." Hermione groaned looking at her small pile of clothes that lay scattered across the bed. "I haven't got anything nice." Last year when they were on the run they had no cause for fancy dresses.

"Ooh, you have just awoken me, here I am." Ginny rushed to her closet and opened it to reveal hoards of clothes.

"Ginny, you have a problem." Hermione laughed moving her eyes from her small pile to Ginny's massive one.

"Do you want help, or no?" She tried her best angry glare, but failed.

"Please." Hermione walked over to the wardrobe and looked in.

"Okay, so Fred told you to wear something nice, but we don't want you being too dressed up, but we also don't want you too casual.. This is fun." Ginny sifted through a few shirts then decided to move on solely to dresses. "I think we want a dress, but something definitely movable, here try this." Ginny pulled out the dress was blue polyester with a beige, pink, and orange print. The bodice was loose and blousey with a dropped shoulder yoke with gathering underneath, short batwing style sleeves, and a button front neckline and mandarin collar. It was adorable.

"Ooh, that is lovely Ginny." Hermione said examining it. She then proceeded to put it on, when she was done she turned for Ginny's approval.

"Oh, Hermione, it's so beautiful on you. You should keep it, really." She motioned for Hermione to spin for her. "Yeah, I never wear it, and it definitely looks better on you."

"Gin, thank you." She gave her a hug and looked in the mirror to admire the dress again. "Just my hair is left really." She gave a tug on her curly mass of hair.

"I've got just the thing." Ginny quickly pulled Hermione out into the bathroom in the hallway. "Come here." She basically yanked Hermione over to the toilet and began working on her hair, she had cut it last year before they had gone to hunt horcruxes so now it was only about to her shoulders. Ginny began pulling and tugging different pieces of Hermione's hair until it was all braided tightly against her head. Ginny finished by spraying her hair with some sort of magic hairspray that didn't make her hair hard, which Hermione was grateful for.

"All done." Ginny took a step back so Hermione could see what she had done to her hair. It now lay in a beautiful plait against her head, making her normally bushy hair look like a crown instead of a mess.

"Ginny, you are truly a wonder." Hermione stepped closer and admired her hair for much longer than she would have liked to admit. "What if he doesn't like, me what if he thinks I'm boring?" Hermione couldn't help but doubt herself, she had never had any cause to think otherwise, the last seven years of her life were to thank for that.

"You're being ridiculous 'Mione, of course he likes you. Just be yourself and no one else, and things will be fine. Fred is honestly the most tame of my brothers, so you made out lucky." She laughed, "But really, you have nothing to worry about. Where is he taking you by the way?" She asked as they went back to Ginny's room to get Hermione's bag before heading downstairs.

"I haven't the foggiest." She said nervously as they reached the base of the stairs. Mrs. Weasley was reading in the sitting room, she looked up immediately when Hermione and Ginny walked in.

"Oh, my. Darling, you look-" Mrs. Weasley started.

"Breathtaking." Fred finished, he had just come from the kitchen when he heard Ginny and Hermione approaching, but by then it was too late, he had seen her and by Merlin's beard, he was struck.

Hermione smiled a large goofy smile, and then immediately reprimanded herself for doing so. ' _But his face.'_ She thought. Freds mouth all but dropped open when he met her eyes. He stood across the room wearing a dark green t-shirt under a black blazer, looking stunningly handsome with his hair gelled like that. ' _Is it normally like that. I like it.'_ Hermione thought to herself.

"She is indeed. Fred, close your mouth dear." Molly stood up. "Oh you two get together I want to take a picture." Mrs. Weasley was now rushing for their camera.

"Mum, stop, we're eighteen and twenty years old, not twelve." Fred ran a hand over his face, and mouthed ' _I'm so sorry.'_ to her.

"Frederick Gideon Weasley, you will stop your complaining this instant. This is an important night and I want to remember it, and I'm sure you will too." She walked into the study to find the camera.

"You really do look beautiful Hermione." Fred said walking over to where she was.

Ginny immediately retreated back up the stairs after whispering a "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Then giggling as she raced back up the stairs, no doubt to go make out with Harry since Hermione wouldn't be there to chaperone her.

"You look very handsome as well." She managed to stay looking at his eyes the entire time instead of shying away like she wanted to do. Freds eyes bore into hers with such intensity that she was afraid she might have kissed him had Mrs. Weasley not walked in first.

"Alright, just one picture then you two can be off." Molly had them stand in front of the fireplace and took a few moments positioning them, with a few silent huffs from Fred. "On the count of three, why don't you give her a kiss on the cheek."

Hermione's cheeks reddened at the idea.

"Um, okay, as long as you don't mind Hermione?" Fred gave a nervous glance down to her.

"No, I don't." She was trying to be as confident as she had ever been, hunting Voldemort had been less frightening than this. Literally.

"Perfect! Okay, one, two, three." She clicked the button on the camera, and Fred stooped slightly to give her a gentle kiss on the cheek. It was the most physical contact they had had since the battle when she hugged him.

Hermione couldn't help but smile when he did, his lips were much warmer and much softer than she had imagined.

"Alright you two, have fun tonight." Mrs. Weasley left as quickly as she had to get the camera.

"Alright then, are you ready?" Fred asked extending his arm out to Hermione as the walked out the front door.

"Yes, but Fred?" She took his arm but stopped walking. The air was still warm from August and the sky was beginning to turn a lavender purple.

"What is it love?"

"Where are we going?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course."


End file.
